A Solemn Vow
by mum-to-you
Summary: Rewritten so as to be more aligned with canon. I apologize for the faux pas. This rewrite enabled me to include a few more canonical twists, which was fun. At any rate, Molly and Arthur kick some butt with The Order of the Phoenix: The Original Series.


Rewritten so as to be more aligned with canon. I apologize for the faux pas. This rewrite enabled me to include a few more canonical twists, which was fun. At any rate, Molly and Arthur kick some butt with The Order of the Phoenix: The Original Series.  
  
A Solemn Vow  
  
"If you don't think too hard about things, this could almost be like old times, couldn't it?" Molly Weasley asked the small group gathered around the kitchen table.  
  
She smiled at her old school friends Kingsley Shacklebolt and Marlene McKinnon and reached out to take her husband Arthur's hand.  
  
Marlene snorted, "Of course, you weren't always pregnant, then!"  
  
Molly squeezed Arthur's hand and laughed, "Bit of luck, that. Right, love?"  
  
"Molly, please!" Mortified, Arthur blushed furiously.  
  
Kingsley guffawed. "You're right, Molly. Some things never change."  
  
Marlene became very quiet and walked over to the window. She pulled back the curtain and peered out apprehensively. "It's the waiting I can't stand," she said.  
  
At that, a pall descended over the room. For a brief moment, they had been able to set aside their fears, but now were forced to confront the fact they were grown-ups, with very, very grown-up concerns.  
  
It had been three nights since the Dark Mark had appeared in the sky above the McKinnons' house, but so far, there had been no attack. That seemed to be You-Know-Who's latest fear tactic: the Dark Mark would appear days before, rather than after, and everyone would be paralyzed with fear, waiting and wondering when it would happen.  
  
Marlene, who was a liaison for Goblin Relations, had Apparated home immediately, and now the Order of the Phoenix were taking turns guarding her family. Molly Weasley, whose six children were still very young, was not an official member of the Order, but no one, not even Arthur, could dissuade her from rushing to the side of the woman who had been her best friend since they had started school. Marlene's parents, of course, were out patrolling the McKinnon estate with the others, while her younger brothers and sisters were upstairs asleep. Molly stood up and gave her friend a quick hug and said, "I'll just run upstairs to check on the children."  
  
After making sure that every child was asleep and tucked in, she shut each bedroom door firmly. Then she took out her wand, waved it towards each door, and said, "Colloportus." As she turned to walk back downstairs, she heard Kingsley shout, "Bloody hell, I think it's started." He was right.  
  
The explosion knocked Molly to the floor. She struggled to get up and looked over the banister, with her wand at ready. Through the dust and smoke she could see the shadowy, robed figures of the Death Eaters. Sparks of every color from spells and hexes bounced off the walls. At the bottom of the stairs, a Death Eater, with wand raised, began an incantation, "_Cru--_ "  
  
"_Stupefy_!" shouted Molly. The Death Eater didn't see it coming. Red sparks shot out of her wand and hit the attacker squarely in the chest. He flew backwards and slammed into the wall, unconscious. She flattened herself against the banister and thought, "How did they get in? Merlin, something's gone wrong."  
  
From somewhere downstairs, Molly heard Marlene scream. She jumped up and ran down the stairs, almost colliding with Kingsley, who had also heard the scream. Together they ran back to the kitchen. Tables and chairs had been overturned, cabinets were open, and the contents broken and scattered all over. The back door was thrown open, and the sounds of the battle raged outside.  
  
They ran to the door with wands at the ready. Molly took cover behind a large tree and got her bearings. Sparks were flying everywhere. Another Death Eater raised his wand, and she saw that Kingsley was directly in its path. "_Imobulus!_" she shouted. The attacker froze before casting the spell, and Kingsley blasted him has he ran by.  
  
From across the extensive grounds, Molly heard a harsh voice cry out, "_Crucio_." Through the smoke and the glare, she saw Marlene fall to the ground writhing. She started to run towards her, but stopped in her tracks. Arthur had beat her there and was kneeling down to help. At that moment, Molly saw a second Death Eater slink out of the shadows of the privet hedge at the edge of the property and aim his wand straight at Arthur. With her heart in her throat, she ran out from the cover of the tree, wand raised, shouting, "_Stupefy_." Red sparks shot out and the Death Eater fell to the ground.  
  
Together, they pulled Marlene, who was beginning to recover, out of the line of fire. Arthur looked at Molly grimly, cradled her face with one hand, and then took off after a Death Eater who had taken aim at Kingsley. From her vantage point by the hedge, Molly inspected the grounds and noticed three Death Eaters sneaking back into the house. "Merlin, the children!" she whispered. She started to head across the yard, when she heard Arthur cry out, "Molly, run!" As she spun around to find him, she found herself staring directly at a hooded Death Eater. His wand was pointed directly at her.  
  
"You are a little idiot, Prewett." the voice drawled at her. "What in Merlin's Name ever possessed you to join our fun and games? Whatever the reason, I'm simply delighted to have the opportunity to finally, after all these years, bring you down." He eyed her coldly for what seemed an eternity, then with a brittle laugh said, "_Avada Kedavra_!"  
  
From out of nowhere, something struck Molly from the side and knocked her to the ground, landing on top of her with a dead weight. The green sparks shot over her head and blasted the privet hedge. With the breath knocked out of her, it took Molly several minutes to realize what had attacked her.  
  
It was Arthur. And now that he was sure she hadn't been hit by the deadly curse, he was holding her so tightly she could still barely draw breath. Tears coursed down his face and he just held her, repeating her name over and over again.  
  
"Don't move, Malfoy," Kingsley said with a steely voice. His wand was pointed directly into the back of Lucius Malfoy's head. Arthur stood up and pulled Molly to her feet. All they could do was gaze at each other because there simply were no words that could convey what had just happened between them. With his eyes on Molly and a distracted wave of his wand, Arthur called out, "_Expelliarmus!"_ Malfoy's wand shot through the air, and Arthur caught it with one hand.  
  
Molly's eyes burned into Malfoy with a palpable hatred. Then suddenly, she strode over to him with her wand outstretched. "You mangy, sneaking, cowardly, loathsome, little bastard! I should have cursed you to hell and back ten years ago! I swear you will pay for this!" Enraged, Molly jabbed her wand into his stomach. "What you deserve, you despicable snotrag, is a taste of your own medicine." Malfoy glared defiantly, but a small whimper escaped from his throat.  
  
"Molly, no!" Arthur cried out, horrified. He threw his arms around her and held her tightly. "No, love, don't. He's not worth it."  
  
Molly struggled to get free, but he refused to let go of her. Eventually, she gave up and lowered her wand. "You're right, Arthur. He's not worth, the stinking maggot. She collapsed against him and began to cry. As he held her, Kingsley began surveying the grounds for others. Everyone they could see, both friend and foe, was on the ground. Then Kingsley spoke up, "Where's Marlene?"  
  
Not a moment later, the entire house collapsed before their eyes. Even from the edge of the property, they could feel the blast. Molly looked up stricken and whispered, "She went back for the children. I know she did."  
  
In the midst of their confusion and grief, the remaining defenders had let their attention stray from Lucius Malfoy. In an instant, he took advantage of the their distraction and Disapparated. It was a total, complete rout for the Order of the Phoenix.  
  
Early the next morning, Arthur and Molly were back at The Burrow, unable to sleep, when there was a knock at the door. It was Albus Dumbledore.  
  
"I have come to thank you for your extraordinary service to the Order tonight," he said somberly.  
  
Arthur threw himself down on the sofa and covered his face with his hands. "It was a total cock-up, Albus. Nothing extraordinary about it. An absolute disaster."  
  
"True. It was not a completely successful endeavor for the Order. But that has nothing to do with what you tried to accomplish tonight. In fact, we now know that the Death Eaters have managed to infiltrate our, er, center of operations, as it were."  
  
Arthur's head jerked up. "A spy?"  
  
Dumbledore nodded gravely. "That's why things were, as you so graphically described it, a cock-up. We have some suspicions about the identify of the spy, and we hope to have that problem resolved soon. Partly because of what happened last night, we will be arranging for James and Lily Potter, and young Harry, of course, to go into hiding. We learned some valuable information tonight, but at a terrible cost."  
  
Then he added gently, "Still, if it were only successful because you, Molly, and Kingsley survived it, then that would be enough to be getting on with, Arthur." Dumbledore followed Arthur's gaze over to Molly, who was sitting at the other end of the sofa, staring into space. He smiled wanly when Arthur pulled her over into his arms and held her tightly.  
  
Dumbedore cleared his throat. "And as for you, Molly, I must ask you not to take such chances again."  
  
Still in daze, Molly raised her head and gave Dumbledore a confused look. Arthur just held his breath.  
  
"You have shown me great loyalty by your willlingness to work for the Order of the Phoenix, and I admire your, erm, warrior spirit. The Death Eaters would do well not to underestimate you ever again. Nevertheless, your priorities lie elsewhere." He gestured up the stairs where the children were sleeping.  
  
"However, we do need someone with your particular skills in potions and, well, mothering, I suppose, who can be available to provide a sanctuary of sorts for Order members who are in need of rest and care. I think you, and The Burrow, if you are willing, would be ideal for that position." He looked over at Arthur with a sober, knowing expression. Arthur exhaled with relief and kissed the top of her head.  
  
She turned her head up to look at him and said, "So, I'm just to continue sitting here at home and wait for Merlin knows what to happen to you? I can't--"  
  
"Molly," Arthur interrupted, "I don't do this often, but I'm afraid I'm going to put my foot down on this."  
  
"But Arthur--"  
  
"No buts. One, if we both continue to accept missions, then we risk that something might happen to both of us, and we have six boys to think about. Two, I can do my job better if I'm not out my mind with worry over you. Three, you've already had to watch both your brothers and your best friend murdered. Albus is right."  
  
"And four--and please don't ask me how I know something quite this private," Dumbledore added, twinkling at them in earnest, "but my extremely sophisticated, state-of-the-art magical equipment has revealed to me, assuming, of course, that my calculations are correct--algebra, after all, was never really my strong suit--come this time next year, there will be another little Weasley to put on the early enrollment lists for Hogwarts. There now, I've gone and made myself blush."  
  
Arthur gripped Molly tightly and closed his eyes against the vision of what had almost happened during the attack.  
  
Dumbledore cleared his throat again, "You need to keep yourself safe, Molly. If we aren't doing this for the children who are the future of our world, then we serve no long-lasting purpose at all." He peered at her over his half-moon spectacles. "By the way, there is going to something very unique about this child. Not that the other six aren't special in their own ways, of course. Well, I can't really say any more.  
  
"Except perhaps for this. Arthur, we desperately need Order members in place at the Ministry. Very soon, I believe, a position will be opening up, and I am going to ask you to accept it." He twinkled at Arthur and broke into a mischievous smile, "I believe this position will be a good match for your skills and interests and will not be entirely unwelcome. Now, that really is all I had come to say. I must be getting back to the school. Don't get up. I can see myself out."  
  
"Thank you, Albus," Arthur said, "for everything."  
  
Molly let her head sink to Arthur's shoulder and sighed. "It must be early going, then. Merlin, if I had known . . . oh, Arthur." All at once, the grief, the fear, the fatigue, and the enormity of Dumbledore's prediction hit her, and she began to sob silently.  
  
Arthur held her tightly, and his own eyes began to fill with tears at the thought of the two precious lives he had almost lost. He lifted up Molly's chin with one hand, bent down and kissed her passionately. "Molly, you stay home and keep this family safe, and I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to make sure that the world this baby is born into is a world without You-Know-Who."  
  
Molly gave him a little smile and added, "And while you're at it, don't forget to do everything in your power to make sure its born into a world _with you_." That was a solemn vow they could seal with a kiss. 


End file.
